Reflections from a Facebook Tour October 21, 2010

At the close of the IABC Pacific Plains Regional Exchange conference, I was able to join a group of professional communicators on a tour of one of the most fascinating companies of the 21st Century–Facebook. The global headquarters are located at the end of a small quiet street in Palo Alto with homes across the street in a building long abandoned by another legendary PA start-up, Hewlett Packard. The unassuming lobby entrance masks a group of less then 2000 employees (1000 in PA) who are on a big mission to connect people around the globe (no matter the platform).

The Face Ball--a collection of name badges

After passing “the tank” and observing Mark Z in a meeting with about half a dozen executives, one of young women that lead our tour asked us to provide our impressions and observations. The “open” and “fun” environment were obvious. What struck me was the lack of paper recycling bins and filing cabinets which lead me to look for the printers/copiers. Ironic because the building was once used by a major printer manufacturer.
The next thought I had was of a tour I took about 15 years ago of a paper factory in Ripon, CA. Another piece of irony–here I was noticing the lack of paper use at Facebook and remembering how paper is manufactured. On that tour, the paper line broke and as they cleaned the break to start up the rollers again, we could see how the paper went from a wet pulp into finished product. At that time, the plant was considered environmentally conscious (e.g. the steam from the drying process was converted into electricity and used to power the entire town).

My nametag on the ball

At Facebook, they are so green that the product they manufacture is generated out of the raw material of human creativity coded by brilliant engineers on a singular mission fueled by large quantities of sugar and caffeine. It is amazing that they don’t need printers or paper to capture the profound value of their manufacturing. Members and connections are the primary measurement of their value to all of us. May the company continue to make meaningful contributions in our time. Ole